Let's eat!!

waiting to meet the First Lady

you guys really know how to party!

Our buddy Sam

This is the best day of my life!

OK, the real title of this post was going to be Oh My Gosh, we just met the President of the United States!  I thought that sounded a little "freaky fan like" so I decided to change it.  It is, however, how Em and I were both feeling.  Kind of a surreal experience, really.  So back to the details.....We made our way in to the party and the military band was playing.  (Later, White House chef Sam Kass would tell me " I think that is the first time I have heard them play "under the Sea from Little Mermaid!")  They were playing (just like at the real state dinners) while we all were invited to enjoy a few drinks. Everything was miniature and totally adorable.  Emma grabbed a drink and started to mingle.  Kind of funny, actually, she was very at ease, like she had done this everyday.....mingled at the White House while having ,fruity, fizzy drinks!  I was amazed at the access they gave us.  I mean, at one point, Emma was sitting on a bench, which was there when Abraham Lincoln was president, sipping her drink and commenting on how "cushy" the chairs were in this place.  It was hilarious.  They made the place really festive for the kids.  There was a balloon making artist in one corner and giant fruit topiaries everywhere.  I wondered later if they regretted the balloon guy.... lots of his creations began popping, which sent the secret service in to a frenzy.  So after drinks and balloons we lined up to go in for our formal portrait with Mrs. Obama.  We had practiced what we wanted to say to her but when the time came, we really could not get it out.  We were warned that she was a hugger and sure enough, when we walked in and were introduced, she grabbed Emma for a bear hug.  I was next and then we posed for our photo.  She asked Emma a few questions about her recipe and off we went.  We were a little awe struck.  Again, everyone there was so nice.  We were escorted out of the room by a very formal military guy and he had a huge smile on his face while he told Emma "that was pretty cool, huh?"  After the photo session, we   went in to the room where we would have lunch and finally saw all of the beautiful details.  Everything was gorgeous.  Amazing centerpieces of fruit and flowers, cute little mason jars to drink out of, engraved place cards with our names, and the official white house China from the Reagan administration.  We found our table and realized we were sitting with White House Chef Sam Kass.  He turned out to be so nice.  We were able to chat with him about all kinds of interesting things.  Mrs. Obama gave a short speech and then we started eating.  After the first course, a butler standing near us leaned over and said to Emma "hey, I bet the President is going to come in a minute".  Turns out he was right.  Mrs. Obama said there was a special guest who would be stopping by and in walks Barack Obama.  Before I realized what was happening, he was behind me reaching for my hand to shake.  He shook Emma's hand and congratulated her and then joined Mrs. Obama onstage.  He gave a short speech and then shook hands with everyone in the room.  Including Emma and I on his way back out.   He was gracious, and attentive and it was so amazing to meet him.  After the President left, the group Big Time Rush came to play for the kids.  Apparently, they are a very big deal to the 8-12 year old set but Emma and I had no clue who they were.  They were fun to watch though, and the kids enjoyed it.  During the planning, Mrs. Obama was worried that the kids would be bored at the luncheon so she thought she should call the group and have them perform.  Hmmmm...bored at the White House??  During their performance, Mrs. Obama motioned to me to have Emma come over and sit by her so that she could see better.  Um, OK...  Wow.  Once Emma was seated in front of Mrs. Obama, she started patting her head and playing with her hair....like a sweet aunt would have done.  It was so cute to see Emma sitting with the First Lady of the United States like they were old friends.  Luckily, the White House photographer snapped a photo (the one on the whitehouse.gov website) because mine were all terrible.  Needless to say, a great moment.  After the concert, we finished lunch.   Mrs. Obama then said her goodbyes.  At this point, the same sweet butler who had told us about the President coming, came over and gave Emma the place card with Mrs. Obama's name on it!  What a keepsake.  We made our way to a bathroom break and then outside to the garden.  OK, Emma will kill me at some point in her life for retelling this story but it is too funny not to mention....So, Emma had to use the bathroom the moment we sat down to lunch.  They had warned us to take care of that before we came because it would require extra effort to make it happen during lunch.  The extra effort turned out to be a personal escort of secret service as well as a white house guard.  Needless to say, I made Emma hold it!  We were then taken on a tour of the south lawn and the White House gardens with Sam Kass.  What a garden!  It was so fun to be on the other side of the fence inside the White House looking out at the tourists!  After our tour, we were escorted to our buses and loaded up.  The first thing we did when we got back on the buses (including the editors!) was scream.  It was so fun.  We were taken back to the hotel to retrieve our luggage and then Emma and I made a mad dash to the airport to make our plane, BARELY!  At our layover in Atlanta, Emma conducted a phone interview with a news station in El Paso for a story.  It was sweet to hear her answering questions and describing the big day.  For me the experience is still hard to sum up.  Obviously, I feel so incredibly fortunate.  For all of it, really. But, as a Mom, I am especially thankful for all of the precious memories that Em and I made together while in DC and at the White House.  Pretty amazing.